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Alpha-4 waste sorting nears home stretch

Crews are near the home stretch in completing a two-year program to sort and segregate the mercury-contaminated contents of legacy waste containers at Y-12’s Alpha-4 building. This former Manhattan Project production facility is preparing to move to cold and dark status prior to demolition. The sorting process involves inspecting container contents ranging from concrete and…

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Intern spotlight – Maggie Kite

Maggie Kite of Johnson City, Tennessee, expects to graduate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in May 2026 with a degree in sustainability studies. This summer she is working as an environmental characterization intern. Maggie has previous experience with Eurofins Environmental Testing. In her free time, Maggie enjoys pottery, powerlifting, scuba diving, and running. She…

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Intern spotlight – Ivy John

Ivy Johns of Jonesborough, Tennessee, expects to graduate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in May 2027 with a degree in chemical engineering. This summer she is supporting waste programs as an intern. Ivy enjoys spending time on the water and with her 20 fainting goats! She hopes to gain professional experience and a deeper…

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Organizational changes planned for Waste Management

Jake Knox is assuming the role of UCOR TWPC Waste Programs Manager. He brings 15 years of waste management experience primarily with transuranic waste certification with the Central Characterization Program (CCP), including eight years as the CCP ORNL Project Manager for TWPC. Jake is uniquely qualified to assist with TWPC future missions. Waste Management (WM) is…

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RadWaste Summit panels focus on Oak Ridge notable outcomes

UCOR’s successes in enabling reindustrialization and next-gen nuclear opportunities in the Oak Ridge Corridor were part of two panels at the 19th Annual RadWaste Summit this week in Savannah, Georgia. UCOR Waste Management & Operations Director Sean Dunagan participated on a panel focused on how cleanup and safe waste management can lead to economic opportunities…

Ventilation test aims to reduce mercury vapor exposure

Worker contact with mercury vapors is a continuing concern as UCOR crews prepare Manhattan Project-era buildings for demolition at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Breathing the vapors can cause respiratory and other health issues. To help mitigate potential health threats, the UCOR Technology Development Group is conducting a ventilation technology demonstration to evaluate filtration media…

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Phoenix team earns TeamsCount Award

Congratulations to the Phoenix team! Their recent TeamsCount award recognizes the members of this multi-discipline team for developing and implementing a database application used to plan and execute sample collection and analysis. By developing Phoenix in-house, the team saved taxpayers ~$1.5M at implementation and will continue saving an estimated $600K in annual fees. Phoenix allows…